Donna Motsinger awarded more than $19M in sexual battery lawsuit against Bill Cosby

A woman who accused actor and comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault more than 50 years ago was awarded more than $19 million Monday by a Santa Monica jury in her lawsuit.

Jurors reached the verdict on the third day of deliberations. The panel also determined that Motsinger is due punitive damages, but that amount was to be determined later Monday, according to attorneys for the plaintiff.

Punitive damages are typically awarded at the court’s discretion and not available in all cases. They usually are awarded as a punishment for harmful conduct.

In her sexual battery lawsuit against the 88-year-old Cosby, Donna Motsinger argued that he made daily visits for several days to the restaurant where she worked as a server in 1972. Motsinger, who had served Cosby at his table, claimed he followed her to her home in Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco, pulled up next to her and asked if she’d like to see one of his shows in San Carlos, according to the civil case complaint.

Motsinger was later picked up in a limousine and was given a glass of wine by Cosby, according to the lawsuit. She began to feel sick and was given what she believed was an aspirin, but soon began to lose consciousness, according to the lawsuit.

Attorneys for Cosby said he did not remember any sexual contact with Motsinger, but if any occurred, it was consensual. The same lawyers also denied giving Motsinger drugs without her permission.

Jennifer Bonjean, an attorney for Cosby, told reporters after the verdict that she was “disappointed” by the decision and the case will be appealed.

Motsinger said she was glad that Cosby will be held accountable.

“It has been 54 years to get justice, and I know it’s not complete for the rest of the women, but I hope it helps them a little bit,” she said outside court, the New York Times reported.

She said the financial damages were “icing on the cake.”

In June 2022, another Santa Monica civil jury found Bill Cosby liable for sexually abusing Judy Huth at the Playboy Mansion in 1975, when she was 16 years old. The panel awarded Huth $500,000.

Cosby was convicted in 2018 of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. He served three years in prison, but his conviction was overturned in 2021 and he was released from custody.